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Prisoner
Prisoner Season 1, Episode 8 of Mystic Despite my spiteful mood, I was thoroughly impressed - albeit a little daunted - at the castle of Aphyix. Huge stone walls soared to the clouds above my head. Crystalline steps led up to two grand ivory doors, in which two guards sat, staring intently down. I noticed Keyes barely glanced at them. The guards nodded at him respectfully, and Keyes did the same. "Captain Keyes." Captain? I almost froze and stared at Keyes, a newfound respect lighting my eyes. I had thought he was like every other cat in Aphyix, but it seemed he had a lot more authority than I'd thought. "Guard Kerrn." Keyes glanced at the one speaking. "Take the intruder to the hearing room for now, and until further questioning we will keep her there." "The hearing room is currently at function, with all due respect, Captain," Kerrn mewed timidly. "A cat is on trial as of now." "Are they really?" Keyes mewed grumpily. "Fine, take her to the cell quarters - mind you, she isn't due for trial or in prison, make sure you tell the cell guards as much." "Yes, Captain." Kerrn nodded at me and left his post; I followed him into the castle. It was all I could do not to gasp at the interior. Huge walls flanked either side of me, with a high ceiling lost in the shadows. Little gaps cut into the wall in designs let in light, and the floor was massive and cold, going clickety-clack with every tap of my claws. "Is this your first time here?" Kerrn asked, almost kindly, startling me from my starings. His voice seemed to echo around the room. "What? Oh, yes," I answered. Better not say anything about Lazuli or the portal. "Where are you from?" "From?" He stared at me. "You know, from outside of Aphyix. Aphyix isn't the only place here, you know." "It isn't?" I gulped. I hadn't realized there could, instead of just a small community, be a whole other world down here. "Uh...no." Kerrn mewed. He turned a corner and quickly descended a flight of steps. I huffed to catch up to him. We approached a gated cell marked '1' and he opened it. Something was trickling in the corner, making dropping noises every second or so. I tried not to focus on it, it was bothering me so much, but for some reason it wouldn't go away. "You'll stay here." "Here?" I hissed, unable to hide my shock. And I had thought Keyes was a friend! "Yes," Kerrn mewed, almost sympathetically. "I'll come and pick you up later, when the questioning room is free." "How is our guest settling in?" I turned and saw Keyes climbing down the stony steps. "Keyes," I hissed, my claws sliding out, as Kerrn led me in and locked the gate. "Why did you do this to me?" "By the way," Keyes mewed smoothly. "There is no way out. The walls contain alumirod, an impenetrable forcefield, and only a stick could squeeze through the gates. Only because I know you're one to try." Then he walked right out. Kerrn glanced uneasily at me and then followed him. How long would they keep me here? Hours? Days? Permanently, if I didn't well enough answer the "questioning"? Suddenly fearful, I realized I needed to get out of here. I couldn't stay for the questioning, I most likely couldn't answer many of the questions about my whereabouts before now and such. And once they saw I couldn't they'd think for sure I was intruding. Why is intruding so important anyways? What is the most harm that could fall upon Aphyix with my being in the forests? I turned to the bricked wall, poring over it for any holes or gaps. But it seemed seamless; even the section where the wall and floor met was safely sealed off. From the scales of claws against brick, it looked as if many a prisoner had tried to escape, in vain. "Mind you, she isn't due or in prison." Those had been Keyes' words, though I was fairly certain I was some sort of prisoner. The dripping noise was in my ears. I grumbled and lay my chin on my paws, concentrating intently on the task at hand. What to do, what to do? The time seemed to fly by. If I were to be collected in a few hours, I would have to get out of here fast. I could continue to look for cracks, but the wall was so solid it seemed there wasn't any. The edges were shadowed and stuck up with spiderwebs. This place seemed hundreds of years old: surely there had to be a gap somewhere. It would have to be located in the shadowy edges of the cell, but I couldn't bring myself to stick my paws into them. The whole cell writhed with an eerie feeling, like I was being watched, and suddenly I didn't want to move anymore. Squeezing my eyes shut, I realized I had no other option but to sleep or think about escape, none of which seemed best. If I was too scared to do anything, the only hope I had was the Keyes wouldn't kill me after releasing me from the cell. The dripping noise was near driving me crazy. Drip. Drip. Wait. Dripping! Water! ''I almost bolted up with realization. Where there was dripping water, there had to be a small rivulet leading from the spot, and where there was a rivulet, there had to be an area in the wall it flowed against and eventually eroded. My heart beating with excitement, I listened carefully to the water. ''Drip. I silently made my way to the source of the noise. My paws gradually padded into wet ground. Finally I felt something plop! onto my forehead and I looked up, blinking as rusty water splashed into my face. I had found it. Now feeling the ground carefully, almost in pitch blackness what with the shadow, I followed the wetness on the ground with my pads. The ground also sloped slightly, from the years of water flowing down this path, and granted my paws purchase on the slippery ground. Finally my nose bumped the wall, even harshly. I rubbed my nose and started feeling around the wall. My mind was calculating at a racing pace, realizing that I had limited time and Keyes would be coming in no time. Yes! I found a little niche in the wall where the water was leaking to. My heart sank. My paw would barely fit through, let alone my whole body! Then my paw triggered rock to crumble around the hole, and I realized that the stone around the hole had massively been softened from the water. I fiercly dug, aware of my pads being flayed, my muscles aching. This is a darn thick wall. I kept carving in with my claws, worried at some point I would reach untouched stone and be trapped. But, as I continually dug, my paw finally broke free and reached sunlight. I gasped in delight. The fresh air battled the musky odor of the cell, and the sunlight seemed to spruce up the dark, worn and aged room. Suddenly the massive entrance doors leading to the cell room opened. Keyes' voice could be heard, along with the deep rumbles of a few other guards. Squeaking urgently, I caught on with my claws and wriggled frantically through the hole I had made. "Hey!" one of the guards shouted in alarm. I could feel Keyes' glare boring into my back. "What are you waiting for?" Keyes hissed. "Guards, catch her!" I leaped free of the room and looked around. Where to run? I found the nearest expanse of trees and made a mad dash for it. "Over there!" one of the guards yelled. I frantically quickened my pace and dug my heels into it. I reached the trees and quickly lost them, though I knew they would find me before long. Knowing I left a scent trail reeking of the cell fungus and cold, musty cell smell, I trotted along and then smartly doubled back along my path. The trackers would wonder what had happened to me. Then I looped around a decadent fern and hid among the base of an oak. Pausing for a minute, I spectated for a little and then scaled the trunk of the oak tree. "Where'd she go?" "Climbed a tree, did she?" "No, you blithering idiots!" I could hear Keyes snarl. I bit back a snort of laughter. "She's doubled back! After her!" They raced back along the track, but I watched them stumble back and forth from the top of the tree. They had completely missed my loop around the ferns. I was safe. Sighing, I leaned back into the central trunk. Had coming the Aphyix really been in the best of my interests? Sure, I wasn't locked up in a huge yet claustrophobic cage anymore. I was roaming free the beautiful lands of the city. But I was still a prisoner, I knew. For even if I ran to the edges of the land, Keyes would track me down, capture me, and diminish my very existence. Category:Mystic Category:Mist's Fanfictions